Getting a 2nd generation Prius soon a few questions

If not running a carfax, you can check for dealer maintenance and mileage history by running the VIN at : Welcome to Toyota Owners

 

I noticed you are in Virginia too. DMV needs an appointment which usually is available several weeks away. However, DMV accepts title and registration by mail which means you can drive in a week.
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/general/pdf/covid_title.pdf

You can drive the car in your driveway or at least start it once a week to charge the hybrid battery when not in use. I have left the car for 4 weeks without issues.

Best battery is the Toyota OEM that lasts 7-10 years. Optima is another brand that people like.

The AC besides leaks is usually destroyed by incompatible oil contamination when ignorant people are using gauges that have been used previously in other type car ACs or when improperly overcharge or under charge the system with refrigerant.

 

Once a week until the engine warms up and stops should be fine. You could have bought mine if you came earlier but now it’s sold. I am sure you will enjoy your new Prius!

 

Regarding air conditioning- rock hits to the condenser can cause leaks.

The compressor is cooled by having 'enough' refrigerant circulating in the loop. If there is 'not enough,' the compressor can still provide enough pressure to cool the cabin, but it will work itself to death doing so. It's a very finely balanced system; any attempt at recharging should include recovering all remaining refrigerant, pulling a hard vacuum and then refilling from a vessel on an accurate scale- get it to the gram if you can.

As for the hybrid battery? I'd be very surprised if there were much life left in that after 15 years/230k miles.

But hey, surprises like that are awesome.

 

How much are you paying for this car?

 

Funny, I think of the hybrid as being the "main battery" and the 12 volt battery as being the side battery.
Anyways, take a look at the "fitting mobility" thread here in Prius chat. Folks like me are putting wheelchair batteries that cost anywhere from $75 to $120 in there instead of the stock Toyota battery. The stock Toyota battery is really small and wimpy, under-engineered imho. The yellow top optimas are quite spendy and overrated imho.
Right now I'm running a $75 battery and so far so good. Andit's easy to swap out once you get the hang of it.
Your car will run as long as your foot presses the gas pedal. So you can sit in there and listen to your favorite song and warm up the car to operating temperature and full hybrid charge, once or twice a week till you get rolling. Obviously you never race a cold engine.
Putting Dino oil into my Prius stopped the oil consumption that synthetic was causing, food for thought.

 

Has anyone here used those all in 1 AC recharge kits on the gen 2 prius?

 

"All in one" sounds like a recipe for trouble on a Prius. The Prius has an electric AC compressor and uses special (non conductive) oil. If you add the wrong oil or anything else to the AC system you can cause an "isolation fault" in the compressor and the HV ecu will shut down the car.

I have never had any luck with any type of sealer or fix-in-a-can.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

100%.

 

Did you get your VA title and registration by mail? How many days did it finally take?

 

Wow! So from the date the DMV received the paperwork until today was more than two weeks?